Disaster Strikes
by etherealdiscord
Summary: Ten students. One trip. One moment that will change their lives.. Forever. Fire can be so beautiful.. And so very dangerous..
1. The Flight

Title: Disaster Strikes  
  
Author: Payton Tyler  
  
Email: darkserene@glitterbomb.com  
  
Pairing: See, now, I get the feeling you know, but things, they aren't always as they seem..  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Spoiler: State of Grace and everything before it, and Night Without Stars, this weeks episode  
  
Disclaimer: I brought Joan of Arcadia last night with the money I was saving up to buy a leather jacket with. Seeing as how that's 50$, clearly, I don't own it.  
  
Summary: One trip to Massachusetts. Ten students. One moment that will change their lives. Forever.  
  
Author's Notes: Oh. Disaster!! Yay! Starts out slow, but it will get better! I sware!  
  
1. The Flight  
  
Joan's POV  
  
I will admit, when God first 'asked' me to go to Massachesetts for spring break, I thought He was delirious. When He told me to make sure Luke, Adam and Grace went with me, I though He had lost it. There was no way mom and dad would let us go to Massachusetts, and there was no way Adam and Grace would go along with it. Or, at least, that's what I though until chemestry last week. That's when Ms. Lischak announced the spring break trip to Massachusetts, and asked if anyone wanted a fourm. I didn't even need to convince Luke, he was all for it. And the amazing part? Grace and Adam were a lot easier to convince than I thought they would be. So that's how we got to where we are now...  
  
"God Girardi! We're going for one week, not a year!" Grace yelled as Joan continued shoving more clothing into her suitcase.  
  
"I know, but we're going for a week, not a day," Joan said, pointing to Grace's backpack. Grace rolled her eyes as Joan walked over to her closet. "Ugh! I have nothing to wear.."   
  
"Stop being such a drama queen. We're gonna be late," Grace told her.  
  
"No we aren't." The door to Joan's room flung opened and Luke stepped in.  
  
"Guys, we're going to be late," he said. Grace smirked at Joan.  
  
"Shut up," Joan told her.  
  
"Adam's downstairs, the plane leaves in an hour, it takes fifteen minutes to get there. Come on," Luke told them. Joan picked up her suitcase.   
  
"Okay, I'm ready," she said, walking out of her room and heading downstairs, Luke and Grace following.   
  
"Ready?" Will asked them as they entered the living room. The four teenagers exchanged looks.  
  
"Yeah," Joan said. "Mom! We're going!" she yelled. Helen entered the room and hugged her daughter and son.  
  
"Have fun," she told them.They said their goodbyes, and walked outside. Will opened the trunk and loaded in the bags, then got in the drivers seat. Joan climbed into the passangers side, and Adam, Grace and Luke squeezed into the back seat. They reached the airport fifteen minutes later, just as Luke had said, said goodbye to Will and entered the airport, looking for the rest of the people going on the trip.  
  
"Look, there's Lischak," Joan pointed out. They headed over to the gate where Ms. Lischak and six other students were waiting. Ms. Lischak spotted them and clapped her hands together.   
  
"Okay, everyone is here and accounted for! We've got 55 minutes before the plane leaves, don't stray too far, it's a big airport." Ms. Lishak then went off to talk to a student. Joan dropped her suitcase and sunk down in a chair, a red haired girl taking the seat next to her.  
  
"Hey. Heading for Massachusetts?" she asked. Joan nodded.  
  
"You?"   
  
"Yeah. I'm Madison Kaulfeld."  
  
"Joan Girardi."  
  
"Nice to meet you Joan. So.. Who are you rooming with?" Madison asked. Joan pointed to where Grace and Luke were standing, fighting over God knows what. "I haven't ment one of my roomates yet. One of them is Glynis Figliola, the other's Iris something. Oh, I think that's her." Madison pointed to a dark haired girl talking to Adam. She laughed and playfully hit his shoulder. A bag dropped next to Joan's and Luke took the seat on her other side.  
  
"A week with Freidman. I have to spend a week in the same room with Freidman. Why did I sign up for this trip?" Luke asked.  
  
"Because you're a science nerd. It's a science trip. They go together," Joan told her brother.   
  
"We aren't even on the plane yet and I can already tell this is going to be a long week..." Luke said. If only he knew how right he was.. 


	2. Maybe This Could be the Start

2. Maybe This Could be the Start of Something More  
  
"Miss Kaulfeld, Miss Figliola, Miss Davis, room 1421. Mr. Rove, Mr. Brooks, room 1423. Miss Girardi, Miss Polk, room 1422. Mr. Girardi, Mr. Freidman, Mr. Fisher, room 1424," Ms. Lischak said, tossing the keys to the students as they entered Boston Royal Hotel. Joan caught the keys to the room she and Grace would be sharing and looked around.  
  
"No wonder they call it royal. This place is huge!" 20 stories, 10 elevators, 20 stairways, 1499 rooms.   
  
"Okay, everyone, up to your rooms. We have a busy day tomorrow. I want to see you all down here and ready by 10!" Ms. Lischak told them, walking over to the elevator and hitting the up button.  
  
"This is by far the biggest hotel I've ever seen. I wonder what the rooms are like," Madison said, dragging her bag over to the elevator.  
  
"Ah, another person who packs like Girardi. Amazing," Grace said, adjusting her backpack and entering the elevator.   
  
"Funny. Very funny," Joan said, walking in behind her. Adam and Iris entered after them talking about something that had happened in art class on friday, Scott Brooks from the debate team and Clay Fisher, Joan's ex-boyfriend who turned out to be a real jerk, entered, and lastly, Luke, Freidman and Glynis talking about some science thing. A man entered the hotel from a door that read 'basement' and approched who Joan assumed was the mananger. Just as the doors closed she managed to hear 'fire hazerd. The whole place could go up any day now.'  
  
"Oh my God," Joan said under her breath. Grace turned her her.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'll tell you upstairs." The elevator stopped and the eleven people filtered out, heading into their rooms. Joan put the key in her door and unlocked it. She and Grace steped in.  
  
"Dude this room is bigger than my house," Grace said, throwing her bag onto the nearest bed.   
  
"It's bigger than your house and my house.. And Adam's house together," Joan said, walking around the premiter of the room when she noticed a door. She opened it, revealing Luke, Freidman and Clay arguing over who got which bed.   
  
"Conjoined rooms. This is just, perfect," Joan said. Grace walked over to her and looked over her shoulder at the guys. Freidman turned to the girls.  
  
"Conjoined rooms.." he said with a grin.  
  
"You are foul," Joan told him.  
  
"Tell me this door has a lock," Grace said, looking for a lock on it. She let out a relieved sigh.  
  
"Thank God," she said. Joan slammed the door shut and Grace locked it. They began to unpack in silence when Grace remembered the evevator.  
  
"Hey Joan? What was up with you in the elevator?" she asked, shoving a shirt into the dresser. Joan pulled some jeans out of her suitcase and hung them up.  
  
"I heard someone talking to the manager. They said the hotel was a fire hazard," she said.  
  
"A fire hazard? Well that's great. With our luck the whole place will go up," Grace told her, throwing her bag on a chair.  
  
"It wont go up. If it wasn't safe, do you really think the school would let us come?"  
  
"Who knows. Maybe they're trying to bump us off. I can see the headlines. Insane Chemestry Teacher and an Assortment of Science Nerds and Sub Defectives Die in Hotel Fire."  
  
"Grace.." Joan said, shaking her head. Grace sat down on her bed.  
  
"What? It's possiable. Weird things happen durning spring break. Who knows? Maybe this is the start of something more," Grace suggested.  
  
"We'll, it's going to be an interesting week. Though I will admit I am not looking forward to the coupleage ahead," Joan told Grace, who shuddered.  
  
"Tell me about it. I'm not looking forward to watching Rove and art girl groping each other all week. Or nerd boy and Glynis."  
  
"Adam and Iris are together? And are you jealous of Luke and Glynis?"  
  
"Yes they are, and I don't get jealous. Espically not over nerd love." Joan snickered at Grace, who picked up a pillow and chucked it at her. The door opened and Ms. Lischak leaned her head in.   
  
"Lights out girls, we've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow." 


	3. Something Bigger

3. Everything Dull Leads to Something Bigger  
  
9:40am  
  
Joan slowly awoke from her dreamless sleep. She felt something hit her head. Then another thing. Then another.  
  
"Girardi?" a familliar voice asked her. She slowly opened her eyes and took in the surroundings, the memory of the trip flooding back to her. Grace was standing at the foot of her bed, throwing clothing at her. Joan sat up.  
  
"What? It's not even ten!" Joan complained. Grace rolled her eyes.  
  
"Duh. Lischak wants us down there by ten. The sooner we're down there, the sooner we can get out of here and do something," Grace told her. Joan stood up.  
  
"You're right.."  
  
*  
  
Joan slung her purse over her shoulder as the elevator came to a stop. The doors opened and she and Grace stepped into the lobby.   
  
"Nice of you two to join us today," Ms. Lischak joked. "Now I'll be spliting you up into two groups of five. I'll take group one, and Mr. Rich, the physics teacher will take group two." Mr. Rich introduced himself. "Alright, group one.. Miss Girardi, Mr. Girardi, Mr. Rove, Miss Davis and Miss Polk. Group two, Miss Kaulfeld, Miss Figliola, Mr. Brooks, Mr. Fredman, Mr. Fisher." Joan, Luke, Adam, Iris and Grace walked over to where Ms. Lischak was standing, and Madison, Glynis, Scott, Freidman and Clay joined Mr. Rich. "We'll meet back here at four."  
  
*  
  
On the tour bus, Adam and Iris were engaged in conversation about one of Adam's sculptures, and Grace and Luke were fighting, as usual, while Joan sat there listing to Adam and Iris. When they're conversation got dull, she tuned into Luke and Grace's.  
  
"If you think it's so dull then why did you come?" Luke asked Grace.  
  
"You're sister talked me into it. I'm just saying I didn't sign on to sit on a tour bus all week. Maybe if we were able to wander the city at will.." Grace said.  
  
"If we wandered the city who knows what would happen. We'd all get lost," Luke countered. Grace smacked him upside the head.  
  
"You're getting on my nerves geek," she said.   
  
"Well if you weren't so stubborn.." Luke said. He and Grace looked each other in the eyes for a second, their glares changing into looks of longing. Grace looked away and sunk down in her seat. Joan shook her head at the two. 'They should just admit how they feel about each other and get it over with.' Joan though.  
  
12:00pm  
  
"Lunch!" Ms. Lischak announced as they all climbed off the bus and into a Pizza Hut.   
  
"If I never see another science exhibit again, I'll be happy," Joan said.   
  
"Unchallenged," Adam agreed. Grace pointed at Joan.  
  
"You owe me."  
  
"Alright everyone, get a quick lunch and then we're off again!" Ms. Lischak told them.  
  
*  
  
4:30pm  
  
"I've got to go talk to Rove," Grace told Joan, leaving the room, passing Luke on her way out. They looked at each other then hurried on their way.  
  
*  
  
"Rove," Grace said, opening the door. "Oh my God. I've gone blind," she said, slamming the door shut. It opened again and Adam stepped out, putting his shirt on.  
  
"Don't you lock the doors?" Grace asked, trying to get the visual out of her mind.  
  
"Don't you knock?" he asked.  
  
"It's four thirty! I though you'd be wearing clothing!!"   
  
"I took a shower. Besides, we've known each other since we were three. It's happened before."  
  
"Ugh. Do not remind me. Anyway, we need to talk," Grace said, walking into his room. He followed her.They sat on Adam's bed in silence for a moment.   
  
"Remember Travis?" Grace said. Adam looked at her.  
  
"You haven't mentioned him since eighth grade.."  
  
"I know. I've been trying to forget."  
  
"Then why are you bringing him up? And now? Oh wait. This has something to do with Luke, doesn't it, yo?"   
  
"Yeah.."  
  
"Dude, you like him. You shouldn't let your commitment issues get in the way of that."  
  
"I don't have commitment issues. I've got trust issues," Grace admited.   
  
"Well if you like him, you should tell him."  
  
"You seem to be missing something Rove. He's got a girlfriend."  
  
"Grace, guys are weird. Take me for example. I'm dating Iris, but.. I think I love Jane.."  
  
"Take a page out of your own book and tell her that then," Grace told Adam.   
  
*  
  
4:41pm  
  
"I'd like to be on the lifeboat, but I'd WANT the right to drownd!" Joan exclamed.   
  
"I hear you Joan, I mean, women and children first? That's unfair. I'd want to live, but we should have the right to go down with the ship!" Madison said as the door opened.  
  
"We're watching Titanic," Joan warned as she heard the door close. The TV screen flashed black, then went back to the movie.  
  
"Must be having signal problems.." Madison said as the lights flickered.  
  
"Or a storm's coming," Joan suggested.   
  
*   
  
Adam hit the down button on the elevator. The doors opened and he stepped in.  
  
"H-h-hold the elevator!" Scott called. Adam hit the 'door open' button as Scott climbed in.   
  
*  
  
Grace took seat on the bench next to the ice machean, where Iris was sitting, drawing something. They ignored each other as Glynis approced with an ice bucket. The lights flickered again.   
  
*  
  
"Why do the lights keep flickering?" Clay asked Luke and Freidman.  
  
"Maybe there's a storm coming," Luke suggested, scribbling something in a notebook.  
  
"Maybe there's a short," Freidman suggested, going through a list of Pay Per View movies the hotel had to offer.  
  
*  
  
In the basement fourteen stories below, the sparks were becoming something greater. Something that would change their lives forever. 


	4. Blaze

4. Blaze  
  
4:43pm  
  
"D-do you s-s-smell that?" Scott asked Adam.  
  
"Smoke?" he asked. Scott nodded. Adam hit the '10' button and the doors opened. He stepped out and walked over to the stairwell, Scott following. They climbed down the stairs until they reached the loby and saw it. The fire.   
  
"Get out of the hotel!" a fireman yelled, shoving them out of the door just as the first explosion went off.  
  
*  
  
The hotel shook and the power went off. Iris dropped her book.  
  
"What the?" she asked. Grace stood up and ran over to the stairwell, looking down. She walked down to the third floor when she saw the flames and the smoke. Coughing, she turned and ran back up.  
  
"Hotel's on fire," she said inbetween coughs.   
  
"Oh my God. We've got to get everyone," Iris said, running to Adam and Scott's room. Glynis knocked on Luke, Freidman and Clay's door, and Grace went into her room to get Joan and Madison.  
  
"The hotel is on fire!" Grace exclamed. Madison and Joan jumped up.  
  
"Are you serious?" Joan asked.  
  
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Grace countered.   
  
"We've got to get out of here!" Madison said. The girls ran out of the room and into the hall, where everyone else was waiting.  
  
"The guys weren't in their room," Iris said.  
  
"Let's hope they're already out then," Grace said.  
  
"How far was the fire when you saw it?" Iris asked.  
  
"Third floor. But the smoke was up to the seventh," Grace told her.  
  
"We should split up, we might have a better chance of making it out," Clay suggested.  
  
"But what if we don't all get out?" Madison countered. Silence.   
  
"Madison has a point. Maybe we should stick together," Joan said.  
  
"Whatever we're going to do, we should do it fast," Iris said, pointing to the smoke coming out of the stairwell. Another explosion rocked the hotel, sending them flying.   
  
*  
  
"They still haven't come down.." Adam said. A firefighter turned to him.  
  
"There are still people in the building?"  
  
"At least eight," Adam told him.  
  
"The fire's consumed the first five floors. We've got to get them out. Airlifting will be the safest way. What floor were they on?"  
  
"Fourteen. Jane's still in there. I'm going back," Adam said, heading for the burning building.   
  
"You can't go back up there!" the fireman yelled.  
  
"I've go to," Adam told him, running into the building.  
  
"Stupid kid," the fireman said, following him.  
  
*  
  
5:00pm  
  
"What the-" Joan asked, sitting up rubbing her head. She looked around where she had landed. An elevator. The doors were closed and Iris was pacing back and forth.  
  
"Joan, you're awake," she said.  
  
"Yeah. Why are the doors closed?" Joan asked, standing up.  
  
"I'm trying to get us down to the loby. I know it's a strech, but when we got blown into the elevator the doors slammed and it started going down," Iris said. The elevator rocked.  
  
"And now we're stuck.." Joan said.  
  
*  
  
Grace slammed into the wall. Slowly she stood up, coughing like mad, and looked around. She was on a stairwell filled with smoke. She heard another person's coughing and looked around, smoke burning her eyes. She walked across the landing and looked a the number on the wall. '9'. The blow had sent her down 6 flights of stairs.   
  
"Grace?" Luke asked, walking down a few stairs to get to the landing.  
  
"Luke, the fire's spreading fast. We've got to go back up and find everyone else. The roof might be the safest way out." They climbed up to the tenth floor, smoke filling their lungs.   
  
"We need another stairway. This one's filling up too fast," Luke said, walking into the hallway.  
  
"There's one blocked off by a door a little way down," Grace told him, following him into the hall, which was mostly cleared of smoke. They continued walking down the hall, Luke five feet ahead of her. Grace looked up for a moment to cough again when noticed something going on on the celing right above Luke.  
  
"Luke!" she yelled. He stopped and turned around. Grace ran over to him and gave him a hard push, sending him flying just as a mixture of whatever celings are made out of and the two by four holding the area up came crashing down on Grace, who had been standing in the exact spot Luke had been in... 


	5. The Fire Continues

5. The Fire Continues  
  
Authors Note: I'd just like to point this out. Hannah, you remember my elevator dream? I put it in here... Poor Joan's head.. Also, this chapter was written before NWS, and before I realized Joan was taller than Iris, so just pretend Iris is taller..  
  
A.L: Bwa. I love writting cliffies. There shall be many more to come..  
  
hgill: Accually, I missed all of GH this week, but I caught it on the Soap Net marathon on Saturday and I was like 'woah, I knew there was a fire but dude..' The basic idea of the fire came from GH, but the rest is mine.  
  
5:40pm  
  
The loby was up in flames. It was amazing that it was even still there. Adam ran through the loby trying to find a way up to Joan and the others. He found a door near the back of the loby that read 'incase of fire, use stairway.' Adam opened it up and took in the fresh air, slamming the door behind him. He'd found a fire and smoke free area. Now he could only hope the others had too..  
  
*  
  
Joan climbed up on the hand rail of the elevator and opened the emergeny hatch on the top before falling over and slamming her head on the floor.   
  
"Ah!" she yelled, then jumped back up and climbed on the rail again, then fell again. She repeated this four more times until Iris finally stopped her.  
  
"As amsuing as this is, you should stop, you could give yourself a concusion."  
  
"What do you care?" Joan asked, brushing herself off.  
  
"I know a thing or two about concusions, they aren't fun. What are you trying to do? Maybe I can help," Iris told her.   
  
"I'm trying to climb on top of this thing and see if we're inbetween floors," Joan said.  
  
"Let me try, I'm taller," Iris said, climbing onto the rail and sucessfully getting onto the top of the elevator.  
  
"We're inbetween two floors. I'm gonna guess the sixth and seventh by the amout of doors. Oh, and one of the cables snaped," Iris called down. The elevator rocked and Iris screamed.   
  
"Make that two! One more explosion and.. well, you know that ride Tower of Terror at Disney?" Iris asked, implying that the whole elevator could go crashing down at a killer speed at any moment.  
  
"We've got to get out of here. Are we closer to the top door or the bottom?" Joan asked.   
  
"The bottom one. Why?" Iris asked, sticking her head in.  
  
"Climb back in here, carefully, and help me open the doors," Joan said.   
  
*  
  
Adam looked at the sign on the wall. '7'. Seven more floors. And they probably weren't even there anymore. He took two more steps and slammed into someone.  
  
"Dude!" Adam exclaimed. The person stepped back and adjusted her glasses.  
  
"Adam!" Glynis exclaimed.  
  
"Glynis! Where's everyone else?" Adam asked.  
  
"There was an explosion, Joan and Iris went one way, Luke and Grace another, and I couldn't see where Clay and Freidman went," Glynis told him.  
  
"Did you see where any of them landed?"   
  
"I believe Joan and Iris landed in an elevator." Adam's eyes widened.  
  
"That's not good.."  
  
*  
  
6:00pm  
  
"Grace?!" Luke called, running over to the rubble. He began digging through it until he reached the beam, unable to lift it. "Grace?!" he called again. He moved some more rubble out of the way, revealing Grace. He held two fingers up to her neck and let out a sigh of relief that she was still alive. Just not conscious. He pulled her out from underneath the ceiling waist, not sure how to wake her up. While he was trying to think of a way to get her to reagan consciousness, he heard her cough.  
  
"Grace?" he asked. She opened her eyes and looked at him.   
  
"Hey geek," she said. She brought a hand up to her head and let it rest there for a moment, then brought it back down, seeing blood. "Hm. I'm bleeding. Imagine that."  
  
"Why did you do that? Are you insane? Do you have a death wish?" Luke asked her, noticing the smoke slowly filling the hall.   
  
"I had my reasons," she told him with a small smile.   
  
"We've got to get out of here, the hall's filling up with smoke. Are you alright? Can you walk?" he asked her, standing. She stood up and felt her right leg give out, collapsing. Luke caught her and helped her stand back up.  
  
"Think I sprained my leg," she told him.   
  
"You got really lucky if that's all. We need to find a way out, do you think they know we're in here? Do you think everyone else is alright?" he asked, still holding her.  
  
"I think they know, and I hope they are. We've got to find that staircase up to the roof," Grace told him. Neither moved for a moment. Then before either knew what was happening, they kissed. As quickly as it had started, Grace ended it.  
  
"Smoke. Fire. Remember?" she asked.  
  
"Right."  
  
6:30pm  
  
Back in Arcadia..  
  
"And in news around the country, a freak fire has broken out at Boston's number one hotel, the Boston Royal. The cause of the fire is currently unknown, however there are still people trapped inside." Footage of the burning hotel appeared on the screen. "Eight teenagers were reported missing from their school group, and a ninth ran back into the blazing fire to find his friends."  
  
"Helen, Kevin!" Will called.  
  
"Kevin's at work," Helen said, walking into the living room. She saw the hotel on the screen, and read the name.  
  
"That's where Joan and Luke are! Did they say if they made it out?!" Helen asked.  
  
"They said eight teenagers were missing from their school group, and a ninth went in to get them," Will said.   
  
"We have to get out there!"  
  
"Another explosion has just gone off. At this time it is doubtful there will be any survivor.."  
  
A/N: Did you guys think I was gonna kill Grace that way? That's a mean way to die.. 


	6. No Survivors

Authors Notes: I'm finally on vacation! I'll probably be doing a lot of updating this week, because I don't have to go to school.  
  
dokushoka: Cliffhangers and angst. Two lovely things. Thanks for the review ^^ and I'm sorry to say there's another cliffie coming up..  
  
CCChut81: Thanks ^^  
  
hgill: Thanks for the reviews. When I read the thing about the elevator I got this weird senario in my mind that went something like -  
  
Iris: Joan, there's something I have to tell you  
  
Joan: Hm?  
  
Iris: Adam's the father of my child  
  
Joan: Liar!  
  
Ah, soap opera drama. Gotta love it.  
  
Admiral Lily: Killing Iris and Glynis? Now there's a plan!   
  
And now I give you chapter 6 of Disaster Strikes  
  
6. No Survivors?  
  
6:43pm  
  
"If I make it out of here alive, I'm going to start volunteer work at the hospital in the fire survivors wing," Grace told Luke as they climbed the stairs.   
  
"We're gonna make it out of here alive," Luke told her. She pointed to a big silver door with the arm that wasn't wrapped around Luke's shoulders for support.  
  
"We should go over there," she told him. They turned and headed for the door. Luke opened the door quickly and they fell in, then slammed the door.   
  
"Fresh air.." Grace said, taking it in.   
  
"Grace?" A voice called as Adam and Glynis came running down the stairs to them.   
  
"Are you guys alright, yo?" Adam asked.  
  
"I am, she's not," Luke told Adam.  
  
"I'm fine," Grace told him.  
  
"Grace, a ceiling fell on you!" Adam and Glynis looked at her.  
  
"A ceiling did not fall on me. A ceiling almost fell on you, I pushed you out of the way and a bunch of wood and plaster and stuff fell on me!"  
  
"From the ceiling! You even said it yourself. You think you sprained your leg," Luke told her.  
  
"Look, that isn't important. We've got to find everyone else," Grace said.   
  
"Glynis says that Joan and Iris are in an elevator somewhere."  
  
*  
  
"Jump!" Joan yelled. She and Iris jumped up in the air and slammed down on the floor. They felt the elevator fall down a little further.  
  
"Okay, again!" Joan yelled. They went down further. "Now we've gotta get up there, fast." Joan and Iris climbed up onto the top of the elevator as fast as they could and Joan jumped through the elevator doors they had opened. The cable began to break further.   
  
"Joan!" Iris yelled.  
  
"Give me your hand!" Joan called to her, holding her hand out. Iris grabbed it just as the cable broke.   
  
"Pull me up!!" Iris screamed.   
  
"I'm trying!" Joan told her. Iris put her feet up against the side of the elevator shaft and grabbed Joan's other arm, using her as support, trying to climb the wall. Joan took a few steps back, and Iris climbed up.  
  
"I owe you, my life," Iris told her.  
  
"We're not out of the woods yet," Joan said, pointing out the flames that surrounded them.   
  
"There's the door, come on!" Iris said as she and Joan ran through the hall, coughing and dodging flames. Joan opened the door and she and Iris ran in. They began running up the stairs, forgetting to close the door.  
  
*  
  
"I hate stairs," Grace said as Luke helped her up the stairs.   
  
"Do you smell that?" Glynis asked.   
  
"Dude, more smoke," Adam responded as they reached the fourteenth floor.   
  
"Adam?!" two voices yelled together. Adam turned around and saw Iris and Joan running upstairs.  
  
"Jane, Iris!" he called as they reached the group.  
  
"We left the door opened. We're got to find the others and get out. Now," Iris said.   
  
"Who are we missing?" Joan asked with a cough.  
  
"Uh. .Clay and Freidman and Madison. Scott's outside," Adam said as another person ran up the stairs.  
  
"There you are!" he yelled at Adam, coughing like mad. He looked at the other teenagers. "You found your friends, now you've all got to get to the roof! I'll call for a helicopter."  
  
"Who are you?" Iris asked.  
  
"I'm Ryan. A fireman. I followed your friend back in here," he said. "Now you all need to get to the roof, the fire's almost up to this floor.  
  
"Freidman, Clay and Madison are still in here!" Joan said.  
  
"I'll look for them, you kids keep going for the roof," ryan commanded. They considered it and agreed, heading for the roof.  
  
*  
  
The door to the roof opened as Joan, Luke, Adam, Grace, Iris and Glynis walked out onto it, all gasping and coughing, taking in the fresh air just as a helicopter landed on the roof. The pilot got out.  
  
"There are only three seats. We're going to need to take more than one trip. How many are left in there?" he asked as the roof door opened once again and soot covered Freidman and Madison exited.  
  
"No one," Freidman said. said.  
  
"What do you mean no one? What about Clay and Ryan?" Joan asked him. He shook his head.  
  
"We've got to take off, three of you get in," the pilot told them.  
  
"Grace, you should go in, you're injured," Joan told her.  
  
"Do I look like I care? The nerds should go, they're younger."  
  
"Age has nothing to do with anything," Luke told her.   
  
"We're just going to fight over this until the building blows up and we die! You three go!" Iris yelled, pointing to Madison, Freidman and Glynis. They didn't put up a fight and went with it. "Okay, when it comes back who's going on?"  
  
"You are," Joan said.  
  
"Who else then?" Iris asked.  
  
"Luke, you're going. And Grace, you should,"Joan told her.  
  
"No. Rove goes on the next one," Grace told her.  
  
"Dude?" Adam questioned. Grace turned to him.  
  
"Think about it Rove. We have no idea when this place is gonna blow. If it goes up with you still up here, think about what will happen. You'll die. How's your father gonna feel about that? With your mother and everything.. It's better if you go," Grace explained as the helicopter landed again.  
  
"She's right, get on it Adam," Joan said. Adam began to protest, but Joan cut him off by kissing him. She broke the kiss and looked him in the eyes. "Go." He was about to say something, then changed his mind. As he was about to climb in, he stopped and looked at Joan.  
  
"I love you Jane," he said. She smiled at him.  
  
"I love you too Adam," Joan said as the helicopter took off. Adam, Luke and Iris looked out the window as it lifted into the air when another explosion went off and the hotel was consumed in a reddish cloud. 


	7. Boston Hospital

7. Boston Hospital  
  
Authors Note: Oh my gosh there is serious cheesy fluff in this chapter. You have been warned.  
  
hgill: Sorry I freaked you out ^^. That scene with Emily almost made me cry! Whoever plays her (it's weird that Amber Tamblyn use to) is a great actress. And Nikolas cannot be dead or I'll stop watching the show.  
  
AL: Grukeage does have something to do with Grace and Luke. First two letters of her name and the last three of his make Gruke and I add 'age' to a lot of words.. Bad habit.. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews  
  
7:14pm  
  
Adam touched the gauze on his head and winced in pain. He took another drink of the water that everyone had been shoving at himself and the other teenagers since they had been airlifted away. There was a ding by an elevator door and Iris stepped into the area where Adam was. Her right arm was wrapped in gauze and she was still covered in the ashes and dried blood. None of the teenagers looked very attractive at that moment. Iris touched his arm.  
  
"It's alright," she told him. He didn't respond, he just stood there, looking at a door that lead into the ICU. Luke entered the room holding his own bottle of water.   
  
"Anything?" he asked Adam.  
  
"We made the news," Adam said, pointing to the TV crew that had arrived at the hospital.  
  
"Great. That's just.. Great. People died and they don't even care. It's just another big story for them," Luke said. The ICU door opened and a doctor stepped out. He looked at Adam and Luke.  
  
"You can go in," he told them.  
  
*  
  
"Hey," Luke said, sitting down in a chair next to Grace's bed.  
  
"Why aren't you with your sister?" she asked, her voice raspy and breathing shallow but steady.  
  
"Adam's with her. He.. he wanted some time.." Grace looked up at him, with worry in her eyes.  
  
"How is she?" she asked him.  
  
"She's still unconcious. Doctor says it's a miracle that you two surived at all."  
  
"It's not that easy to kill me off," Grace joked. Then, getting serious again she said, "I hope Joan's gonna be okay."  
  
*  
  
"Jane.." Adam said, taking Joan's hand. "Jane, I don't know if you can hear me, but you've got to wake up. Come on Jane, just open your eyes. This shouldn't have happened, you should have been on the chopper, not me. I shouldn't have let you guy talk me into going. Jane, please, open your eyes. There are people that love you, that need you to wake up. I love you.. Joan." The door opened and a doctor walked in.  
  
"We're going to have to ask you to leave for a moment, Mr. Rove," the doctor said.  
  
"Is she.. Is she going to be alright?" he asked the doctor.  
  
"Trust me, Mr. Rove, Joan will be fine," he said. Adam gave him an odd look for a moment, then nodded and left.   
  
"Joan?" the doctor asked. "Joan, time to wake up," he said. Joan slowly opened her eyes and looked at the doctor.  
  
"God. What happened?"  
  
"I think Adam would rather talk to you about that." Joan narrowed her eyes a little.  
  
"God!" she said, realizing who the doctor was. God gave her His wave and left the room.  
  
*  
  
As Doctor God entered the main room of the ICU, Adam and Luke approched him.  
  
"She's awake," he told them. They both let out relieved sighs.   
  
"And she is allowed visitors, but only one at a time," he told them.  
  
"Go," Luke told Adam.  
  
"You're her brother, yo," Adam said.  
  
"Yeah, but your Adam, trust me, she'd rather see you," Luke told Adam. Without hesitation, Adam re-entered the room.  
  
"Jane?" Adam asked, stepping into the room.  
  
"Adam," Joan said quietly, a smile forming on her lips.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked, sitting next to her bed. "Of course you aren't okay, yo. A building blew up while you were still in it. Or.. on it.." Joan looked at him.  
  
"Then how'd I get here?" she asked.  
  
-flashback-  
  
The helicopter took off. Adam, Luke and Iris looked out the window as it lifted into the air when another explosion went off and the hotel was consumed in a reddish cloud.  
  
"Dude, we've got to go back and get them!" Adam said as the reddish cloud began to consum the hotel.  
  
"There isn't enough room in the helicopter," the pilot told him.  
  
"Then fly down and drop us off and get back up there!" Luke said. "They could die!"  
  
"They may already have died. I don't think anyone could have survived that."  
  
-end flashback-  
  
"So if the pilot wouldn't go back and get us, and the hotel blew up, how did we get out..? Grace did get out too, right?" Adam nodded.  
  
"The pilot went back after an arguement with me and your brother. You guys were both out when we landed, the fire was spreading on the roof, but by some twist kind of fate it hadn't reached you guys yet. We picked you up and all wound up here. Guess someone up there's on our side."   
  
"If you only knew.." Joan said under her breath.  
  
"Sorry, what?" Adam asked.  
  
"Nothing. So.. um.. about what happened on the roof.. before you got on the helicopter.."  
  
"What about it, yo?"   
  
"Sorry about that. I.. I mean, I do love you, your my best friend.. and the kiss.. it was nice.. but there was that whole we're gonna die factor, and I know you and Iris are together, so we can just forget about it, you know. It never happened?"Joan asked. Adam forced a smile.  
  
"U-un-unchallenged," he stuttered. 


	8. Back to Arcadia

8. Back to Arcadia  
  
The first week back at school, the nine survivors were the most popular students. A fist full of science nerds and sub-defectives. As Joan, Adam, Luke and Grace stood in line to get through the metal dectors, they kept hearing people saying their names.  
  
"This is getting a little weird.." Joan said, picking at the cast on her left arm.  
  
"I wonder if I'll set off the metal dectors," Grace said, looking at her crutches.  
  
"Well, they're metal, so probably," Joan told her.  
  
"I don't see why they're making me use these. I don't need them," Grace complained.  
  
"Dude, remember when you said that yesterday and tried to walk down stairs without them?" Adam asked her.   
  
"Shut up," Grace muttered. Adam, Joan and Luke laughed when some girl approched them.  
  
"Oh my gosh! Is it true that you, like, got caught in this killer fire?" she asked Joan.  
  
"No commet," Joan said as Iris walked up behind them and took Adam's hand.  
  
"Hey guys," she said, receving a chorus of 'hey's'. "This new found popularity is freaking me out," Iris told them as another person approched them. She looked at the huge gash on Iris's arm, the gauze sticking out from under Adam's beanie, Joan cast and cuts, Grace's crutches and a brused up Luke.  
  
"You guys were in the fire!" she exclamed.  
  
"Yes we were," Grace told her. The whole week played out the same way. Joan, Adam, Luke, Grace, Iris, Glynis, Freidman, Scott and Madison were continousally being asked about the fire and they were all relieved when friday afternoon finally rolled around. Joan was opening Grace's locker for her as Adam walked up behind them.  
  
"Do you know how much this sucks?" Grace asked Joan as Joan punched Grace's locker.  
  
"Yeah. Why does this thing always stick?"  
  
"Not that Girardi. The fact that you've got to beat my locker up for me. I feel so useless, and everyone keeps wanting to do stuff for me. I broke my leg, I'm not helpless!"  
  
"Yeah, but people just want to help," Joan said, punching the locker again as it flung open and smacked her in the face. Grace started cracking up.  
  
"Are you okay, yo?" Adam asked. Joan rubbed her forehead with the hand the hand not in a cast.  
  
"Yeah, great. We studing at my house tonight?" she asked Adam and Grace.  
  
"I'll be there," Grace said.  
  
"I've got plans with Iris, sorry," Adam told her.  
  
"Oh.. Okay.." Joan said.   
  
*  
  
Joan opened the door to her house and she and Grace walked in.   
  
"Did I mention how much this sucks?" Grace asked Joan.   
  
"A few times. But then again, you think everything sucks," Joan told her friend, closing the door.  
  
"I do not."  
  
"You know you do so," Joan told her. Grace picked up her crutch and smacked Joan's leg with it.   
  
"Hey!" Joan yelled, laughing a bit. Helen entered the living room with a stack of papers.  
  
"Hello Joan, Grace," she said, leaning down and picking up another stack of papers on the table. She then went upstairs.  
  
"Ugh, I really do not want to study," Joan said, sinking down on the couch. Grace dropped her crutches and collapsed next to Joan.  
  
"Neither do I," Grace said.   
  
"Wanna order a movie?" Joan asked.  
  
"Sure," Grace said. The living room door opened and Luke ran in, slammed the door and ran over to the couch out of breath.  
  
"Are you okay?" Joan asked her brother. He pointed to Grace and tried to catch his breath.  
  
"Need to talk to you. Alone," he said, panting. Grace raised an eyebrow and grabbed her crutches.  
  
"Fine," she said as they went into the kitchen.   
  
"Okay, what?" Grace asked.  
  
"About when we kissed-"  
  
"It was to prove a point."  
  
"No, not that time. The time in the fire. Why did it happen, what did it mean?"  
  
"Why do you even care?" Grace asked him. "It meant nothing," she said as they made eye contact.  
  
"Nothing?" he asked. Grace broke the stare.  
  
"Okay, so what if it meant something? It doesn't change anything," she told him.  
  
"So it meant something?" Luke questioned.  
  
"Okay, you know what? I like you, but I don't do this," she said, leaving the kitchen. She entered the living room and got her bag then headed for the door and contimplated the best way to open it when Joan came over and opened it for her. Grace muttered 'thanks' and left. 


	9. Getting Rid of the Flower Problem

9. Getting Rid of the Flower Problem  
  
Authors Note: Story screen names always sound dumb, so I'm not using them in the IM conversation. The song used in this chapter is He Loves Me, He Loves You Not by Dream,. And Joan is going to seem incrediably evil in this chapter, but she's just incrediably jealous. I hate this chapter and the next, I tried a zillion re-writes and this is as good as they got..  
  
dokushoka: Don't worry, I'm a sucker for happy endings, but every story needs a lot of angst and cliffies on the way to a happy end.  
  
hgill: Erg, stupid GH cops. My mother's convinced Helena's holding Nikolas captive to piss off Emily. Any way, thanks for the review, and there's still hope for Adam and Joan  
  
AL: I'm only one person, but I'll try to get the chapters up quick, I've already written up to 16, so I have a lot to upload..  
  
Joan sat at her computer desk that night, listing to the radio and talking on AIM. She had somehow managed to get Grace to get an account, and she still wasn't sure how.  
  
J: i tried. i really tried to like her grace. i mean, shes nice, but i dont want her with adam!!  
  
G: So what? You expected him to sit around and wait for you? He's a 16 year old guy Girardi, they don't believe in waiting, even if they really like the girl.  
  
J: do you like her?  
  
G: Of course not. There are three of us. That's a good number. I don't want to talk to anyone else.  
  
J: what about my brother?  
  
G: This isn't about your brother. It's about you Rove and Cousin It  
  
J: so what do you want me to do?  
  
G: Kill 'It'!  
  
J: i cant kill her grace!  
  
G: Hire a hitman?  
  
J: grace!!  
  
G: What? She's just too nice. There's something I seriousally do not trust about her.  
  
J: shes had a tough life grace, her father beat her and her mother  
  
G: Yeah, I know, I know, that's not what I mean. She's too nice, nobody can be that nice without hiding something  
  
J: so your saying shes what? the devils daughter?  
  
G: No. She just can't be as nice as she's leading on.. She's a fake Joan!  
  
J: why do you and adam only call me joan when your pissed off at me? you always call me girardi, and adam always calls me jane, whats up with that?  
  
G: Who knows, who cares?   
  
J: so grace.. your evil what do you think i should do?  
  
G: I'm evil? Gee, thanks. All I have to say is that operation 'Get Rid of the Flower Problem' should be put into play soon.   
  
Joan taped her nails on the key board and concidered what she should do when a song came on the radio that gave her an idea.  
  
/Give it your all girl, give it all ya got.  
  
Take your chance at a second hand shot.  
  
Say what you want girl, Do what you do.  
  
He's never gonna, gonna make it with you/  
  
J: i dont want to be really mean, because im just not a mean person..  
  
G: Which is your problem. Or one of them.  
  
J: funny. but i think i have an idea.   
  
G: What?  
  
J: lets just say this is war. but ill need your help.  
  
G: Want me to hit her with my crutches until she dies?  
  
Joan laughed. Now that was a plan.  
  
/Pulling petals off a flower trying to get your way.  
  
Keep pulling til' it says what you want it to say.  
  
Girl you can pick a field full of daisies,  
  
But he'd still be my baby.  
  
Instinctively, I know what you're thinking,  
  
You'll be giving him an open invitation,  
  
But my baby won't be taken in./  
  
J: go for it. but i need you to tell me one thing  
  
G: What?  
  
J: does adam like me?  
  
G: Dude are you blind? The guy's in love with you!  
  
J: thats all i need to know.  
  
G: So, you gonna tell me what this master plan is?  
  
J: well lets just say i like adam enough to sink to a very very low level  
  
G: A very, very low level? I like the sound of that.   
  
J: heh. this, my friend, is war. flower girl is going down. you going to the art show tomorrow?  
  
G: Do I have a choice?  
  
J: you always have a choice. everyone has a choice. free will.  
  
Joan blinked as she hit the enter button. 'I just sounded like God.' she though.   
  
G: I'll be there. I wanna see Baby Voice's downfall.  
  
Joan laughed again. Baby Voice?!  
  
J: baby voice?   
  
The door to Joan's room opened and Helen entered. She walked behind Joan's chair and looked at the conversation.  
  
"Who are you talking to?" Helen asked, reading what she could see of the conversation, which included 'flower girl is going down.' Joan hit the x in the upper right corner.  
  
"Grace, we're going to the art show Adam's in tomorrow," Joan told Helen. A window popped up.  
  
G: You still there Girardi?   
  
J: yeah.. exmayontheartstay  
  
G: What the..? Oh, right, cya.  
  
J: bye  
  
"Iris is in that show too. You and Grace aren't planning on doing anything to her, are you?" Helen asked her daughter.  
  
"Of course not mom! I wouldn't do that! And what would Grace do, smack Iris with her crutches?"  
  
"Honestally I wouldn't put it past her," Helen said. "She hit you with them today." Joan laughed nervousally.  
  
"But I deserved that. Iris didn't do anything. I mean, without her I'd.." Joan said, her voice trailing off. 'Oh my gosh. Without Iris, I'd be..' "Dead," Joan said, remembering the elevator. Joan hadn't given her parents detals about the fire, nor had Luke, and their parents hadn't pressured them to. They were just happy their children were still alive, and seemed alright, but what Will and Helen didn't know what that the fire had effected their children more than they were letting on. Joan had espically been effected, with the almost dying and the coma.   
  
"We'll, I came in here to ask you to turn off the radio. Or turn it down," Helen said, walking to Joan's door.  
  
"I was going to go to bed anyway, night mom," Joan said.   
  
*  
  
Smoke filled up Joan's lungs. She couldn't breath. She was going to suffocate right there. 'Adam?' Joan called. She could feel the flames against her skin as she climbed higher. 'Adam?!' she screamed, but her voice was silent. Her eyes burned from the smoke as she looked around her and found Iris. She was grinning. 'You really think Adam is looking for you? He doesn't care. Adam gave up on you, he doesn't like you. He likes me. He's mine now, and nothing you say or do can change that.' The ground began to give out beneath Joan as Adam came into view. 'Adam! Help!' Joan called. 'Jane..' he said, reaching out his hand to hers. Just as Joan was about to grab it, Iris pulled Adam back. The ground gave way and Joan went tumbling down into the flames. Joan woke up in a bright white room. A disembodied voice filled the room. It said her name over and over. 'Joan. Joan. Joan.' 'What do you want?!' Joan yelled. There was a flash of red light and Joan found herself on the hotel roof. 'Joan, come on! Joan! Get up!' Grace screamed. Joan looked at herself, sitting on the roof watching the helicopter lift into the air. She watched Grace pull her to the other end of the roof, collapsing because of her leg. The two girls were on the edge of the roof as the flames spread over the roof. 'Come on Joan, don't die on me here. You, Adam and nerd boy are the only friends I've got. Come on Girardi, wake up, your one of those people that make the world more liveable, there aren't many of those people left, so just open your eyes and say something!' Joan was taken aback by the concern in her voice. The scene changed again. Joan was standing in the gym doorway with Grace. 'I don't believe you just did that Joan. That was a new low.' Grace looked Joan in the eyes. 'And coming from me that says a lot. I know I told you to get rid of her but God.' 'Grace..' Joan said. 'Don't. I'm gonna go find your brother.' And with that Grace left. Adam walked through the doorway and stopped in front of Joan. 'You could have just told me you didn't like her. How could you have done that Joan? I thought you were nicer than that. I never expected you to do something so.. mean. You crushed my sculpture, but that doesn't even compair to what you did to Iris. We can't be friends anymore Joan.' Adam said, leaving. Joan looked out the door and saw Iris sitting on the floor, her face red, crying her eyes out. Adam sat next to her and took her hand. Everyone else in the gym was glaring at her. Including Grace and Luke.   
  
*  
  
Joan woke up and looked at her clock. The art show started in a half hour. Joan threw on some jeans, a t-shirt and some shoes and ran downstairs.   
  
"Up before eleven, wow," Luke said.   
  
"Going to the art show," Joan said. Luke nodded.  
  
"I know. Mom's afraid you and Grace are going to do something to Iris. I'm going along to keep you guys from doing anything. Just don't tell mom I told you."  
  
"I'm sure you'll be able to distract Grace," Joan joked.  
  
*  
  
"Girardi," Grace said. Joan and Luke looked at her.  
  
"Which one?" Luke asked.   
  
"She's Girardi, you're nerd boy," Grace explained.   
  
"Right. I'll see you in there. And don't do anything.." he said, entering the gym.  
  
"What was that about?" Grace asked.   
  
"Nothing. But Grace, I'm getting second thoughts about operation 'Get Rid of the Flower'. I don't want to hurt her," Joan said, remembering her dream.  
  
"Just don't go over board. Do what you need to. I think I've got to go talk to the geek. Iris and Adam are in the gym," Grace said, leaving Joan standing in the hall as Cute Guy God approched.  
  
"Having second thoughts?"   
  
"Of course. You know about my dream. Is it going to happen? What am I going to do to Iris?" Joan asked God.  
  
"Free will Joan. You don't need to do anything."  
  
"But.. God! What am I going to do? Should I go ahead and break them up, or not, because Adam seems really happy, but Grace is right, there's something weird about Iris. She said something in the elevator that made me mad, about finding my falling amusing. But she also helped save my life, because without her I wouldn't have been able to get out of the elevator. What's wrong with me? Why do I want revenge on her?"  
  
"You had a near death experence Joan. You've become more aware-" God started.  
  
"My father had a near death experence and he became paranoid! Kevin had a near death experence and he became depressed! Luke had a near death experence and he became.. well, he's still Luke. Everyone but mom's nearly died!"  
  
"And that might have something to do with her sudden over protectiveness?" God questioned.  
  
"Like reading my conversation. And she made me paranoid. Which gave me the dream! So nothing bad is going to happen!" Joan said. She grined and walked down the hall to the gym.  
  
"Joan.." God called after her. "Teenagers. Can't teach them anything.." 


	10. Bye Bye Iris

10. Bye Bye Iris  
  
Authors Note: He Loves Me, He Loves you Not is also in this chapter. Joan's a jerk in this chapter. And this is also the first official chapter I have ever typed a swear word in, because I don't swear in stories. But it was one of those moments where you just had to say it.. Sorry.  
  
Joan walked into the gym and saw Adam and Iris kiss. A grin formed on her lips.  
  
/You can pout your cherry lips,  
  
Try to tend him with a sweet kiss.  
  
You can flutt your pretty eyes,  
  
He ain't got his hands tied/  
  
"Hey Adam, hey Iris!" Joan said, walking up to him.  
  
"Hey Joan," Iris said.   
  
"Adam, you got your gauze off," Joan observed.  
  
"Yeah, last night."  
  
"Hey Iris, can I talk to you?" Joan asked.  
  
"Sure, about what?" Iris asked her.  
  
"Alone, I mean, about -girl- stuff," Joan said, glancing at Adam on the word 'girl'.   
  
"Right, okay," Iris said as they walked out of the gym.  
  
/No chains to unlock,  
  
So free to do what he wants.  
  
He's into what he's got.  
  
He loves me, he loves you not.  
  
No matter what you do, he's never gonna be with you.  
  
He loves me, he loves you not/  
  
"You know, it's nice having a girl friend," Joan told her.  
  
"You've got Grace," Iris said.  
  
"Yeah, but I can't talk to Grace about clothing, or makeup or music or movies or guys. She's not into that stuff," Joan said.  
  
"I guess it is nice being able to talk to someone about that stuff," Iris said.   
  
"Yeah. But there's something that you did that Grace would never do that I'm not so into," Joan told Iris.  
  
"What's that?" Iris asked.  
  
"She wouldn't steal Adam away from me," Joan said coldly.  
  
/You're the kind of girl that is always up for do or dare.  
  
Only want him just because he's there.  
  
Always looking for a new ride,  
  
The grass is greener on the other side.  
  
You're the kind of girl who's not use to hearing no,  
  
All your lovers try to take you where you wanna go/  
  
"What are you talking about? You and Adam weren't a thing. I asked, remember?" Iris said.  
  
"You know something, your little act isn't fooling anything. Because like the song says, it doesn't matter how hard you try, you're never gonna get with my guy," Joan said.  
  
"Joan, you two aren't together. You weren't together. You were fine with it. What's gotten into you?" Iris asked her.  
  
/No chains to unlock,  
  
So free to do what he wants,  
  
He's into what he's got( that's me )  
  
He loves me, He loves you not.  
  
No matter what you do, he is never gona be with you.  
  
He loves me, he loves you not/  
  
"You know something flower girl, you just appear one day and think you can alter someone's reality with your poor little 'my life sucks' speach," Joan said, not knowing where the outburst was coming from. Iris looked upset.  
  
"I'm tempted to alter your reality. As in the kill you way," Joan yelled. The two people nearest the door looked out at them yelling. They just so happened to be Luke and Grace.   
  
"Now would be a good time to stop her," Luke whispered to Grace.  
  
"I want to see what happens.." Grace told him, a little uneasy about what was being said.  
  
"Joan, I thought you were a lot nicer than this. You -were- a lot nicer than this. What happened?"  
  
"Your a fake! You come in and steal Adam and I just let you because you feed me some stupid story about how your father beat you and your mother?! That's probably just some lie to get attention!" Joan yelled.   
  
"Now we can stop them," Grace told Luke. "Girardi!" she yelled.   
  
"This was your idea Grace!" Joan told her.  
  
"No, my idea wasn't to be some kind of uber bitch!" Joan ignored Grace.  
  
/Doesn't matter what you do, he's never gonna be with you.  
  
Give it your all girl, give it all ya got.  
  
You can take your chance at a second hand shot.  
  
Say what you want girl, do what you do.  
  
He's never gonna make it with you/  
  
"You know Iris? You're just a jerk who will do whatever you want to get whatever, or whoever you want!" Joan yelled as the tears began to run down Iris's face. She turned and ran down the hall.  
  
/You can pout your cherry lips ( yeah )  
  
Try to tend him with a sweet kiss ( sweet kiss )  
  
You can flutt your pretty eyes ( pretty eyes )  
  
He ain't got his hands tied.  
  
No chains to unlock,  
  
So free to do what he wants.  
  
He's into what he's got,  
  
He loves me, he loves you not.  
  
No matter what you do, he's never gonna be with you.  
  
He is into what he's got,  
  
He loves me, He loves you not.../  
  
"I'm gonna go.." Luke said, leaving.  
  
"I don't believe you just did that Joan. That was a new low." Grace looked Joan in the eyes. "And coming from me that says a lot. I know I told you to get rid of her but God," Grace said, just like in Joan's dream.  
  
"Grace-" Joan started.  
  
"Don't. I'm gonna go find your brother." Adam walked out into the hall.  
  
"I know what you're going to say Adam. I should have told you I didn't like her, and you're not going to be my friend anymore because this was a new low," Joan said, crying.   
  
"Why'd you do that, yo?" Adam asked.  
  
"I.. I'm jealous. Of Iris. When we agreed that the kiss and the 'I love you' ment nothing, they both ment something to me. Adam, I love you," Joan said.   
  
"I need to sort some stuff out.." Adam said, walking towards the lunch rooms. Joan sunk down on the floor outside of the gym, crying, as Iris hid in a stall in the girls room, also crying, and Adam sat on a table in the empty lunch room, sorting things out. 


	11. Just What I Need

Authors Note: Autumn and Ashes song used in this chapter. Don't remember the name of it. Sorry. I personally found the G/L scene cute, out of character, but still..  
  
*cringes* I hope this chapter makes up for the last two. And the bug my computer had, I just got rid of it! So I can update more now cuz my computer doesn't shut me down every second anymore..  
  
11. Just What I Need  
  
/You might be just what I need/  
  
"What possessed Joan to do that?" Luke asked as he and Grace wandered around the gym, looking at the student art pieces.  
  
"You really don't know?" Grace asked. Luke shook his head. "Dude, you must be blind. Joan's possessed by the jealousy monster."  
  
"Joan's jealous of Iris?" Luke asked. Grace sighed.  
  
/No I would not change a thing/  
  
"Of course she is you idiot. She's like, in love with Rove."  
  
"Wait, I knew she liked him, but she loves him?"  
  
"Yeah," Grace said.   
  
"Wow," Luke said. A second later, Grace's left crutch caught on the leg of a table and it dropped to the ground, Grace going with it, slamming into Luke on the way down and falling on top of him. They started cracking up and Grace began to lift herself off of Luke when something changed her mind.  
  
/Been dreaming of this so long/  
  
Luke thought he was going to pass out right there, with Grace on top of him as her lips met his and they kissed, deeper than the times at the dance and hotel combined. When the thought of what they must look like, laying on the floor of a gym during an art show, crutches at their sides, making out, they broke the kiss and Grace rolled off of Luke. They laid on the floor for a second, then looked at each other and laughed. The people who had seen were giving them looks.   
  
/But we only exist in this song/  
  
"Wanna help me up?" Grace asked. Luke picked himself up, then picked up one of her crutches and leaned on it.   
  
"Is Grace Polk asking for help?" he teased. She sat up and grabbed her other crutch, swinging it around and hitting him in the head.   
  
"Ow," he said, laughing.   
  
"Hey, you deserved that nerd boy," Grace told him.  
  
"That's it. I'm leaving and I'm taking your crutch," Luke said, heading for the door, when Grace tripped him. He fell back down and they started laughing again.   
  
"Okay, time to stand up," Grace said. Luke stood up and helped her up, both still laughing. While getting situated on her crutches again, she lost her balance and fell, Luke catching her. They laughed again.  
  
*  
  
/The thing is, I'm not worth the sorrow/  
  
Joan stood up and walked down the hall into the lunch room. She leaned against the door frame and looked at Adam.  
  
"I am so sorry. I'll understand if you never talk to me again, and I'm going to go find Iris and apologize to her, too," Joan said quietly.   
  
"Joan," Adam said with a sigh. "Jane," he tried again.  
  
"Adam, there's a reason that I do the things I do, but this had nothing to do with anything. I was a jealous jerk, I am really sorry."  
  
/I will hold you down, fold you in/  
  
"Jane. I've got to go talk to Iris. But I need to talk to you too. Can you meet me at my sculpture?" Joan nodded.  
  
*  
  
Adam walked down to the girls room and knocked on the door.  
  
"Iris, it's me, yo," Adam said. The door opened and Iris stepped out.  
  
"So, you're.. you're breaking up with me, huh?"   
  
"Iris.. I like you, I really do.."  
  
"But I'm not Joan. And you love Joan. I don't want to be your stand in while you wait for her. And I think she's ready," Iris said, wiping her eyes.  
  
"Can we still be friends, yo?"   
  
/Deep, deep, deep in the fiction we live/  
  
"Yeah. I'd like that," Iris said with a little smile. Adam hugged her.  
  
"She's not usually like that, I don't know what got into her."  
  
"I do. She's upset because you weren't paying attention to her. Every girl gets that feeling."  
  
*  
  
Grace and Luke were approaching Adam's piece when Glynis entered the gym. Glynis looked around and saw them, talking and laughing, like some sort of alternate universe. She walked over to them.  
  
"Hello Luke," she said.   
  
"Glynis, hi," Luke said. Grace looked from Luke to Glynis and decided it was time to split.  
  
"I'm gonna leave you two alone," Grace said, leaving.  
  
/I break in two over you/  
  
Luke watched her make her way out of the gym and then turned his attention to Glynis. She looked at the expression on his face and got it.  
  
"Oh," she said.   
  
"I'm sorry Glynis," he said. Her eyes filled up with tears and she ran off.  
  
/I break in two/  
  
*  
  
Adam met Joan at his sculpture just as planned.  
  
"How is she?" Joan asked, crossing her arms.  
  
"She's still upset, you said some pretty mean stuff, but she's better," Adam told Joan.  
  
"Where is she? I've still got to apologize," Joan asked. Adam pointed to the other end of the gym, where Iris was standing next to her painting, talking to someone about it.  
  
"I'll do it when she's not busy," Joan told him. He nodded.   
  
"So.." Adam said.  
  
"So..?" Joan asked.   
  
/And if a piece of you dies/  
  
"I love you Jane," Adam said.  
  
"I love you too Adam," Joan told him.  
  
"But.." Adam said.  
  
"If anything happens between us, I want to take it slow. I want us to take it slow," Joan said.  
  
"Unchallenged," Adam told her.   
  
/I will bring you back to life/  
  
Joan smiled a bit, reaching an understanding with Adam. She noticed the person was done talking to Iris and went over to apologize.  
  
*  
  
Luke walked down the hall, amazed to see Grace was still in the school. Her crutches leaned up against a railing, while she sat on it.  
  
"You're still here," Luke said, walking up the stairs to her.  
  
"Yeah. I always stick around during these things. Rove needs the support," Grace told him. "So why aren't you in there with the wife?"  
  
"The wife?" Luke asked. Grace shrugged.  
  
"We broke up," Luke told her.  
  
"Nerd love shattered. News at eleven."  
  
"We were having fun today Grace, what happened?"  
  
"I woke up and realized what was going on," Grace told him. There was silence for a moment.  
  
"Luke?" Grace asked. Luke looked at her.  
  
"You called me Luke. What's wrong?" he asked.  
  
"Nothing. Just.. Thanks.." Grace said.  
  
"For what?" Luke asked her.  
  
"For seeing me. The real me, I mean, the one that's invisible to everyone."  
  
/Of course I see you/  
  
Grace and Luke made eye contact and they too exchanged a small smile of understanding. 


	12. Dealing With Burdens P1

12. Dealing With the Burdens  
  
Authors Note: I was thinking about ending with that chapter, but I didn't want to stop writing this story. I haven't finished yet. There'll probably be two or three more chapters.  
  
I would also just like to say, the next three chapters are some of the weirdest things I have ever written. You have been warned..  
  
Two weeks had past since the art show, and Joan no longer had her cast, nor did Grace have her crutches. The gossip about the fire had died down and eventually been forgotten, although it would live in the memories of the nine students that had made it out for the rest of their lives. Chemistry that day was one of the many reminders of the fire they would be receiving that week.  
  
"You light it," Joan told Adam.  
  
"Dude," Adam said, giving the match to Grace. Grace looked at the burner.  
  
"Honestly I could live without lighting it either."  
  
"Well, one of us has to," Joan told them. Grace looked at the match in her hand.  
  
"I guess I'll do it," she said, striking the match and lighting the burner quickly, then put the match out.  
  
"It's weird having a fire phobia now," Joan said. "So, study group at my place tonight?"  
  
"I can't, yo. I sold my sculpture and I've got to move it over to they buyers house."  
  
"You aren't gonna drop out of school, are you?" Joan asked, worried.  
  
"No," Adam told her. Joan nodded then looked at Grace.  
  
"What about you? You in?"  
  
"Can't. I've got to go to an.. ugh.. family dinner," Grace said.  
  
"They aren't that bad," Joan told her.   
  
"You've never met my family," Grace said. "Rove can tell you, they're scary."  
  
"Unchallenged."  
  
*  
  
Joan walked down the street, taking a sip of her slurpie. For a May night in Maryland, it was abnormally cold. As Joan turned onto her street the very faint scent of smoke drifted towards her. She didn't think anything of it, just figured someone was cooking outdoors. It may be cool out, but it was still May. As Joan got closer to her house, the smell became stronger. She finished off her slurpie and tossed the cup in someones trash can. Joan reached her house and began to walk up the driveway when she noticed that the smoke was coming from the house. She ran up the driveway and to the front door, where there was a note taped to it. 'Gone to Kevin's game, be back later. - mom, dad, Luke and Kevin'. Joan pulled it off the door and opened it, walking in. She scanned her living room for the source of the smoke. Nothing. She walked into the kitchen when she found it. Someone had left something in the oven. Joan carefully turned off the oven and walked back into her living room, watching the smoke go out the open front door.   
  
"That's it. This is a fire clearance," Joan said, closing the door and walking upstairs. She began to pick up all her candles and threw them into a bag along with her match book and lighter. She continued going through the rooms, getting everything that could start a fire and throwing it into a garbage bag. When she got to Luke's room she realized how crazy she was acting. She threw the bag on Luke's bed and sat down on his chair, when Cute Guy God walked into his room.   
  
"Hello Joan," he said.  
  
"What's wrong with me?" Joan asked God.  
  
"Nothing's wrong with you Joan," God told her.  
  
"Then why am I doing this? Why have I been so paranoid? Why have I been so mean?" Joan asked him.  
  
"You're having a normal reaction to what happened Joan."  
  
"But I can't even remember it! I had a dream, but it was just a dream, it's not like it was real," Joan told him.  
  
"You were remembering the fire the only way your mind would let you."  
  
"Well, why didn't the fire effect anyone else? Why just me? Why is everyone else still fine?"  
  
"You don't know they are Joan. People hid things they don't want to deal with."  
  
"So what's my assignment? Make them fess up? Start a support group?"  
  
"Go talk to your friends. They've all got their own burdens, some because of the fire, some not. Listen to them, and put the candles back," God told her. Joan laughed.  
  
"Okay, fine. Any suggestions on who I should talk to first, your... almightiness?" Joan asked, but God was already gone.  
  
*  
  
Joan knocked on the door to Grace's house and waited for an answer. It opened and a blond girl who looked about thirteen or fourteen answered.  
  
"Yeah?" she asked.  
  
"Um.. hey.. is Grace here?" she asked.  
  
"She snuck out back a half hour ago. Said we were all giving her a headache. Why?"  
  
"I'm a friend, I just wanted to talk to her," Joan said.   
  
"Wow. A friend. That's a step up from last year. But feel free to go find her. She's in one of her death to all moods though," the girl told Joan.  
  
"She's always in a death to all moods," Joan said, walking down the steps. She walked around to the side of the house and opened up the gate. Grace was sitting on a table up on the porch.  
  
"Hey," Joan said, walking onto the porch.  
  
"I told you not to come by without being invited. Did you not process that?" Grace asked. Joan jumped up on the table next to her.  
  
"Sorry. I was just wondering if you wanted to talk about anything."  
  
"I'm at a family dinner," Grace told her.  
  
"No you're not. Your sitting on a table in your back yard while the rest of your family is at a family dinner."  
  
"I hate my family," Grace told her.   
  
"You hate everything Grace," Joan said.   
  
"I do not," Grace said.  
  
"Well, it seems like it sometimes," Joan told her.  
  
"That's just the way I am Girardi. And why do I feel like I'm about to become the next contestant on the Joan Girardi's mission to help people show?"   
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"All that crazy stuff you do, cheerleading, the semi-formal, debate team, you always end up trying to help someone," Grace pointed out.  
  
"Sometimes people just need someone to talk to," Joan said.  
  
"So go talk to Rove. He still has burdens he hasn't shared with you, bug him," Grace said.  
  
"Everyone has burdens. And he isn't home."  
  
"Who even let you back here?"  
  
"I don't know, some girl," Joan said.  
  
"Chole probably. She has this insane idea that if I get friends I'll be nice to her."  
  
"Why aren't you nice to her? Or anyone for that matter?"  
  
"No comment," Grace said, getting off the table and walking into her house. 


	13. Dealing With Burdens P2

13. Dealing With Burdens 2  
  
"How bad was it, yo?" Adam asked. He and Grace were walking down the hall the next morning on their way to Joan's locker.  
  
"You remember my seventh birthday?" Grace asked him.  
  
"That bad?"  
  
"Worse. Dean and Tom got into a fight over the brisket. Guess who won?"  
  
"Dean?"  
  
"No. It ended up landing on Chole and Michelle's heads. So I tried to leave, but the door at the top of the stairs was locked, because Zeke had already locked himself up there. But he's only five, so he got stuck..." Grace explained as she and Adam reached Joan's locker.  
  
"Dude."  
  
"I'll see you in chem. Later Rove," Grace said, leaving because of Joan.  
  
"You guys in a fight again, yo?" Adam asked. Joan closed her locker.  
  
"We're always in a fight," Joan told him. "I just don't get her. What's her problem?"  
  
"She doesn't like May, yo," Adam said as the warning bell went off.  
  
"Bye Jane," Adam said, leaving. A tall red haired girl walked over to Joan.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked.  
  
"My best friends are insane," Joan told her.  
  
"They aren't insane, Joan," God said.  
  
"Okay, Adam has serious reason to hate November. But why does Grace hate May? What did May ever do to her? Both of her parents are still alive. And what does that have to do with the fire?"  
  
"Everything's connected, Joan. Don't be late for French," God said, walking away with the signature wave.  
  
"That's just... That's great. Thanks a lot!" Joan yelled down the hall as the late bell went off.  
  
*  
  
"Jane? Jane, wake up," Adam whispered. Joan picked her head up.  
  
"Hm? What?" she asked.  
  
"You fell asleep, Lischak is looking at you like she's going to kill you," Adam told her. Joan looked to the front of the room where Ms. Lischak was swinging her pointer in a circle and glaring at Joan.   
  
"Good morning Miss Girardi," Ms. Lischak said.  
  
"Sorry.." Joan said. Ms. Lischak went back to teaching the class and Joan turned to Adam.  
  
"Thanks," she said.   
  
"No problem," Adam said as Joan then turned to Grace.  
  
"So Grace, what do you have against May?" Joan asked.  
  
"I'm ignoring you Girardi," she responded.  
  
"Come on, just tell me," Joan said.  
  
"What part of no can you not comprehend?!" Grace snapped. The class went silent and turned to look at her.   
  
"Miss Polk, save your conversation for after class," Ms. Lischak told her. Joan turned to Adam for some kind of answer but he just shrugged.  
  
"Not my story to tell, yo," he told her.  
  
*  
  
"Why does she have to be so stubborn?" Joan asked Luke that night.   
  
"I don't know," Luke said, going through the TV channels.  
  
"Well has she said anything to you?" Joan asked.  
  
"Why would she have?"  
  
"Well, you two have been hanging out a lot since the fire.." Joan told him.  
  
"She saved my life, needless to say I'm thankful," Luke told his sister.   
  
"She saved your life? Wow. You two are so about each other," Joan said.  
  
"We are not. I like her, the feeling's not returned, I've tried everything. We're just friends."  
  
"I'm sure you haven't tried -everything-," Joan told him, standing up and heading up to her room. Luke opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again, an idea hitting him. 


	14. Luke's Plan

14. Luke's Plan  
  
Authors Note: This chapter is insane. I think I've lost what was left of my mind. Accually, it's just the fact that I really really want Grace and Luke together. Song used is 'Star of all the Planets' by Ryan Malcolm.  
  
Grace sat up in her bed, going through her CDs, looking for something to listen to. She decided on a CD and put it in her CD player, plugging in her headphones and drowning out the outside world. She had no way of knowing what was going on just outside her window. After two or three minutes past, her door opened and her father stepped in. She took off her headphones.  
  
"As much as I like the boy, can you tell him to come back in the daylight hours?" he asked.   
  
"What are you talking about?" Grace asked her father. He smiled.  
  
"Open the window," he said, leaving his daughters room.   
  
"Okay.." Grace said, walking over to her window and opening it. She looked out and couldn't help but laugh at the sight. Luke was sitting on a branch on the tree outside  
  
Grace's bedroom window, there was a CD player sitting next to him, playing some unrecognizable love song which he was singing along to, very off key. Grace looked at the clock on her desk. 1:00am.   
  
"Don't you know you're beautiful, the light you shed it overflows my eyes, can't take your blinding glow, no, oh no. If I could break into your mind, I'd leave a note that said  
  
that you were like, the star of all planets, out in the sky, tell my why. Don't you feel lovely, don't you feel bright, you've got something, I only wish you could see, how lovely  
  
you are to me. Oh, you're lovely," he sung.  
  
"What are you doing?" Grace asked him.  
  
"Serenading you," he told her. Grace laughed again.  
  
"Yeah, but why? And at one o'clock in the morning?"  
  
"Because I felt it was something I had to do," Luke told her, going back to singing. "If you could spy with your pretty eyes, what I can see as your very own satellite,   
  
maybe you would get it and you'd realize, oh, you're the star of all the planets, out in the sky, tell me why. Don't you feel lovely, don't you feel bright, you've got that   
  
something, I only wish you could see, how lovely you are to me. How lovely you are to me, you're the star of all the planets, of the sky, you're the star of all the planets."  
  
"Okay, that's it, get in here before you break your neck," Grace told him. He picked up the radio and tossed it to Grace, who put it on her floor, then he climbed onto the   
  
window sill and climbed into Grace's room. They stood in Grace's room, facing each other.  
  
"Okay, so, what possessed you to come over here at one o'clock in the morning, climb up the tree and serenade me?" Grace asked him. "And where did you dig up that  
  
music?"  
  
"I raided Joan's CD collection to find the music, and like I said, I felt it was something I had to do," Luke told her.  
  
"And again I say, why?" Luke took a step closer to her.  
  
"After seeing all this tension after the fire, I started thinking-"  
  
"You're always thinking, nerd boy."  
  
"Let me finish. I started thinking about us. I know, I know, there is no us, we've got some twisted form of friendship, that's all, but I think.. I think I'm falling in love with  
  
you. I just needed to tell you, so I'll be going now, my parents will kill me when they find out I'm gone," Luke said. He walked towards the window when Grace stopped  
  
him.  
  
"Use the door, I don't want you to break your neck," Grace told him. As he turned to walk for the door, Grace grabbed him and kissed him. When they finally broke apart,   
  
due to the lack of oxygen, Grace spoke.  
  
"I.. I think I've got the same feeling you do," Grace told him quietly, avoiding his eyes.   
  
"As I was hoping you were," he said.  
  
"I want to take things slow," Grace told him.  
  
"Does taking things slow include kissing?" Luke joked. Grace pretended to think about it for a moment.  
  
"I guess we could arrange that," she told him, kissing him again.  
  
*  
  
Luke climbed back into his window and nearly passed out when he saw his sister sitting on his bed.   
  
"Hey dog boy, where've you been?" she asked.  
  
"Nowhere," he lied.  
  
"You've been somewhere. Other wise you wouldn't be sneaking into your room through the window at one thirty in the morning with my Ryan Malcolm CD," Joan told him.  
  
"I just did something insane," he said, handing the CD to his sister.  
  
"Really? And it involved Ryan Malcolm and being outside? What was it?" Joan questioned.  
  
"I just spent the last half hour sitting in the tree outside of Grace's window singing Star of all the Planets," Luke confessed.  
  
"Are you serious?" she asked.  
  
"Well, she invited me in before I finished the song, but there were only two verses left.."   
  
"And she didn't deck you?"  
  
"Actually, no, she seemed to like it."  
  
"Someone liked your singing? That's a first.."  
  
"Funny."  
  
"No, I'm serious Luke. You didn't get the singing genes of the family."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm going to sleep, good bye Joan," he said, shoving Joan out of his room. 


	15. Flat Line

15. Flat Line  
  
"So the answer is C6Na2O9?" Joan asked. Grace glanced at the book.  
  
"Yeah," she told Joan.  
  
"Finally," Joan said, closing her book, "the nightmare ends."  
  
"Okay, we're done. I'm leaving now," Grace said, getting off Joan's couch and heading for the door.  
  
"Come on Grace, why are you still mad at me?" Joan asked, walking over to the door.  
  
"Because you're a nag Joan," Grace told her, grabbing her jacket.  
  
"Call me Girardi. You're supposed to call me Girardi and Adam's supposed to call me Jane. I don't like you guys calling me Joan," Joan told her. At first being 'Jane' and 'Girardi' had annoyed her, but after she had gotten closer to Adam and Grace, she preferred 'Jane' coming from Adam and 'Girardi' from Grace.  
  
"Too bad," Grace said, putting her jacket on.  
  
"You're doing that whole seeting smoke coming out of your ears thing again." Grace rolled her eyes and went to open the door when Joan grabbed her head and took a step back. Grace looked at her and raised an eyebrow. Joan took another step back and fell right down, hitting her head against the wall and rendering herself unconscious. Grace knelt down beside her friend.  
  
"Joan?" she asked. No answer. "Joan? ..Girardi?"  
  
*  
  
"Miss Girardi?" a faint voice asked. Joan's head was spinning. Who's voice was that? Why couldn't she recognize it? "Miss Girardi, can you open your eyes?" the voice asked. Joan tried to open her eyes without success. What happened? Joan dug through her memory, trying to find something, but everything was blank, like someone had erased it. "Miss Girardi, please open your eyes." Joan tried to open her eyes again without success. She could feel a bright light flooding over her eyes, like she had just waken up and the sun was coming in through the window. She pried her eyes open lash by lash until she could see her surrounding. A white room. Solid white.   
  
"There we go. How are you feeling?" the voice asked.   
  
"Where-?" Joan tried, her throat stinging. The voice seemed to have understood.  
  
"You're in the hospital Joan. You've been out for almost two weeks. Your family and friends have been worried sick," the voice said, who Joan now assumed was a nurse.  
  
"Adam?" she asked.   
  
"He's here. You need your rest. I'll go get a doctor and tell your family and friends you're awake," the nurse said. She walked out of Joan's room and shut the door.  
  
"How is she?" Will asked, walking up to the nurse.   
  
"She's awake. I'm going to go get her doctor, and she's not ready for visitors," the nurse said. "However she did ask for Adam," the nurse told him, walking away. Will turned and looked at Adam, who was sitting in between Grace and Kevin. Will turned and looked at Helen, Kevin, Luke, Adam and Grace.  
  
"She's awake," he said. The five all let out relieved sighs when they heard the news.  
  
"Can we see her?" Helen asked.  
  
"The nurse said no. She went to get Joan's doctor. She also said she asked for Adam," Will told them, all eyes turning to Adam.   
  
*  
  
"Miss Girardi?" the doctor asked, offering Joan some water. She took it and downed it in record time.  
  
"How did I get here?" she asked.  
  
"Your friend, the blond girl, drove you. You fainted and hit your head on the way down. You've been unconscious a day shy of two weeks," the doctor said.  
  
"Why did I faint?" Joan asked the doctor.  
  
"Have you been under a lot of stress lately?" the doctor asked.  
  
"Fire. Iris. May. God's stupid request," Joan muttered.  
  
"You're delirious," the doctor told her. "Your family and friends are anxious to see you, our you up to visitors?"  
  
"Yeah. I want to see them," Joan said. The doctor nodded.   
  
*  
  
"She can have visitors. She still seems a little delirious, talking about fires and iris's and May, but she wants to see you," the doctor said. At the mention of fires, Iris and May, Luke, Adam and Grace exchanged a look. Helen and Will went in first.   
  
"Hi sweetie, how are you feeling?" Helen asked.   
  
"Mom?" Joan asked.   
  
"How are you feeling?" Will asked his daughter.  
  
"Been better," Joan said. "Was I really out for two weeks?"  
  
"Yes. You had us all so worried," Helen said.   
  
"But I just fainted.." Joan said. Helen and Will looked at each other.  
  
"Right.. But we were still worried," Will told her.   
  
*  
  
"Hey Joan," Kevin said, wheeling himself into the room.  
  
"Hey Kev."  
  
"It's weird, lately I've been the one in the bed," Kevin told her. Joan laughed a little.   
  
"So, how's the past two weeks been?" Joan asked her big brother.  
  
"The six of us have spent most of our time here," Kevin told her.  
  
*  
  
"Okay, I know you guys will tell me the truth. If I just fainted, why was I out for two weeks, and why was everyone so worried?" Joan asked as Luke and Grace entered her room.  
  
"Of course we were all worried about you Joan-" Luke started.   
  
"You didn't just faint Girardi," Grace told her.   
  
"Grace-" Luke said.  
  
"Calm down geek, your sister should at least know what happened to her," Grace told him.  
  
"Guys?" Joan asked.   
  
"Okay, you fainted and slammed your head into the wall on the way down, but four days ago you flatlined," Grace told her.   
  
"Wait, I died?" Joan asked.  
  
"Only for a few minutes," Luke said.   
  
"But I died and no one felt like telling me?" Joan asked.  
  
"Nobody wanted to worry you," Luke said.   
  
"Well, thanks for filling me in," Joan said.  
  
"Well, it's about Adam's time to come in, see you tomorrow Joan," Luke said.   
  
"Bye dog boy." Grace went to follow him but stopped.  
  
"You know I don't apologize, so this never leaves the room, but I'm sorry for being a jerk," Grace said, walking out of the room.  
  
*  
  
"Hey Jane," Adam said, walking into her room.  
  
"Hey Adam," she said as he walked over to her bedside and took her hand, like he had after the fire.  
  
"Deja vu," he said.   
  
"After the fire?" Joan asked him.  
  
"Yeah," Adam said.   
  
"Hey Adam?" Joan asked.  
  
"Yeah?"   
  
"Where do we stand?" she asked him.  
  
"Huh?" Adam asked.  
  
"I mean, what about us?"  
  
"What about us?"  
  
"What about us?"  
  
"What about us?"  
  
"Okay, now I'm getting deja vu," Joan said with a laugh. "I love you Adam."  
  
"I love you too Jane."  
  
"See, this is what I mean. Where do we stand?"  
  
"We're friends, yo," Adam told her.  
  
"I want to be more then friends.." Joan told him.  
  
"So do I," Adam said.  
  
"I'm gonna mess up so much," Joan said. Adam squeezed her hand a little.  
  
"We'll mess up together," Adam told her as the door opened.  
  
"Visiting hours are over, you can come back tomorrow afternoon," the nurse said. Adam stood up and headed for the door.  
  
"Bye Jane," he said, leaving. 


	16. Confession

Authors Note: This chapter is to tie the anti-May thing with the story. It may seem a little out of character, but it's proof that events can bring out a side of people no one knew existed. Yeah, and the Charmed thing is sort of a pun, because the Becky Wahlstrom (Grace) was in Charmed and all.. Yeah, I'm a loser..  
  
Ahh! Second to last chapter! Need new story line..  
  
I've decided to dedicate this chapter to Admiral Lily, cuz her stories rock. Also dedicated to my dear friend Hannah, I'm so proud of you for 'breaking the rules' today. Even if it was leaving without a pass, I'm still corrupting you. ^^  
  
And I'd also like to place a cheese factor on this chapter: very high. You've been warned.  
  
16. Confession  
  
"Come on! He's your son!" Joan yelled.  
  
"Uh, Girardi, what are you talking about?" Grace asked, standing in the doorway of Joan's room. Joan ignored her.  
  
"He's your son! You two need to get back together, because if you don't he wont be born!" Grace walked into the room and saw it was the TV Joan was yelling at.  
  
"What are you watching?" Grace asked. Joan turned to look at her.  
  
"Some Charmed re-run on TNT," Joan told her. Grace looked at a vase filled with roses sitting on the table next to Joan's bed.  
  
"They're still alive. That's cool," she said.  
  
"Hm?" Joan asked.  
  
"Oh, the flowers. Rove brought them they day you got admitted. Didn't think they'd live for two weeks."  
  
"They're nice, they make the room feel better," Joan told Grace. She leaned against the wall across from Joan's bed.  
  
"Yeah. He spent every second here. Someone asked if you two were married or something," Grace said. Joan laughed a little.  
  
"Maybe some day," Joan told her.  
  
"Just make sure you guys get engaged outside," Grace said under her breath, not expecting Joan to hear.  
  
"How come?" Joan asked.  
  
"How come what?" Grace said.   
  
"How come we need to make sure we get engaged outside?"  
  
"Never mind."  
  
"Grace?" Joan asked. Grace walked over to the chair by Joan's bed and sat down, looking at her friend.  
  
"I've got a sister," Grace told her in what Joan assumed was an attempt to change the topic.  
  
"Really?" Joan asked. She'd always assumed Grace and Adam were both only children.  
  
"Yeah. Jessica. Four years older than me," Grace told Joan.  
  
"Cool, I've always wanted a sister. I mean, I love Kevin and Luke, but I've just always wanted another girl to talk to in my family that wasn't my mother," Joan said. Grace nodded.  
  
"I never admitted it to her, but it was sort of cool having a sister," Grace said.  
  
"Did she go to college out of state?" Joan asked.  
  
"No. She's... she's still in Arcadia.." 'Okay, it's either the drugs they're making me take or Grace sounds like she's gonna cry..' Joan thought.  
  
"What happened?" Joan asked.  
  
"Last year, she was eighteen. She had this boyfriend, Sam. They were.. like you and Rove. Had their ups and downs but everyone knew they loved each other. I was at Rove's the day it happened. I was going to walk, but she dropped me off on the way to Sam's. Around eight that night Mr. Rove told me that my dad was on the phone. From here. The hospital. Mr. Rove gave me a ride here. My dad told me that Sam had proposed to Jessica, he was putting off telling me what that had to do with the hospital. There was a short, like at the hotel, and Sam's place went up in flames. Sam's parents were at work, it was just him and Jessica. There weren't any survivors. That happened a year ago today. It's why I don't like May. Rove's the only person other than you and family that know," Grace confessed. Her eyes narrowed a bit. "How did you get those words to come out of my mouth?" she asked Joan.   
  
"I didn't.. And I'm sorry," Joan told her friend. Before either girl could speak, Adam entered the room.  
  
"Hey Jane," he said, then noticed Grace. "Hey Grace. I thought you'd be at the-" he said, his voice trailing off.  
  
"Yeah, I was going to the graveyard after I stopped by here," Grace told him, standing up. "She knows. Bye." And with that, she left the room. 


	17. Normality

17. Normality  
  
"I am so happy to be out of there," Joan said, stepping into her living room Monday afternoon. After being held up in the hospital all weekend, she was thrilled to be out of there. She threw herself down on the couch and let out a sigh.  
  
"Don't get too comfortable, you missed two weeks of school," Helen told her daughter. Joan looked at the mountain of books sitting on the table.  
  
"But I just got out of the hospital. Shouldn't there be, I don't know, a grace period or something?"  
  
"You're going back on Monday," Will told her.  
  
"That's.. that's not fair!" Joan protested.  
  
"Life isn't fair," Luke said, coming down the stairs. He picked up the phone and started back upstairs, then remembered Joan had received a message while she was being checked out of the hospital.  
  
"Adam called," Luke said.  
  
"Then give me the phone so I can call him back dog boy," Joan told him.  
  
"Use your cell phone, I need to call someone."  
  
"Who? Your girlfriend?" she asked, momentarily forgetting he actually had one   
  
"Actually, yeah," he told her, going up to his room.  
  
"Ah, the house was too peaceful without them fighting, I think I missed it," Will told Helen.  
  
"Yeah," Helen said. "Well, I've got some papers to grade."  
  
*  
  
Ten minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Joan got up and answered it.  
  
"Hey guys, why are you knocking?" Joan asked Adam and Grace, who usually just walked into the house.  
  
"Rove's idea. Since you just got out of the hospital," Grace explained. Joan stepped back, letting them into the house. Adam wrapped an arm around Joan's waist and pulled her in for a kiss.  
  
"Could you two not do that around me?" Grace asked. Adam and Joan broke their kiss with a laugh.  
  
"I don't think so, sorry. Luke's upstairs," Joan told Grace, kissing Adam again. Grace shuddered and walked upstairs to Luke's room.   
  
"Hey nerd." Luke turned around in his desk chair.  
  
"Hey," he said. "What's up?"  
  
"Your sister and Rove are all over each other downstairs," Grace told him, taking a seat on his bed.   
  
"Well, they are going out, that's usually how people who are going out act.." Luke told her, getting up from the chair and moving next to her on the bed.  
  
"Yeah, I know." There was silence for a moment, then Grace spoke up. "Hey, Luke?" he turned and looked at her.  
  
"Hm?" he asked. She took his face in her hands and kissed him.  
  
*  
  
"Hey dog boy, Grace-" Joan said, opening Luke's door. Joan let out a sigh before finishing the sentence. "Grace, get off my brother," she said. Grace sat up on the bed and cleared her throat, turning red. Luke remained laying down, blushing like mad. "Adam and I are gonna catch a movie. You guys wanna come?"   
  
"Uh.. sure.." Luke said. Joan looked to Grace.  
  
"Alright. Just no-"   
  
"Chick flicks. Got it," Joan said.   
  
*  
  
Joan, Luke and Grace handed Adam their money and he placed it on the counter with his own. "Four," he said to the girl. She lifted her head.  
  
"Adam, hey."  
  
"Iris, I didn't know you worked here, yo," Adam said.   
  
"I just started. I need the money," she told him, handing him the tickets. "So, what have you been up to lately?"  
  
"Just a lot of work. And I started this new piece for class. Hey, I get off work in a minute, do you guys mind if I catch a movie with you?" she asked. Adam turned to face Joan.   
  
"Sure," she said with a weak smile.   
  
*  
  
After the movie, the five went and brought slurpies.  
  
"Do you ever get sick of these things?" Luke asked his sister. She took a drink.  
  
"No way. They're awesome. Like that movie," Joan said.  
  
"I thought the movie was stupid," Grace told Joan.  
  
"Yeah, but come on Grace, Christopher Marquette is hot!" Adam turned and looked at her.  
  
"You thought he was hot, yo?" he asked.  
  
"Actually, he sort of resembles you," Joan told him.  
  
"Yeah, I noticed that too," Iris said.  
  
"Still, Girl Next Door, bad movie. One of those stupid teen American Pie-like movies," Grace told them, taking a drink of her own slurpie.  
  
"I didn't think it was that horrible yo," Adam said.  
  
"One, you're male. Two, it was about a porn star," Grace told him.  
  
"Yeah, but it's got people for both genders. A porn star for the guys-" Joan started.  
  
"And Chris Marquette for the girls," Iris finished.  
  
"Right."  
  
"Sorry, I don't find the dude attractive," Grace told them.  
  
"Yet you find nerd boy attractive? Grace Polk, you are one twisted person," Joan said.  
  
"Hey! Are you saying I'm not attractive?" Luke asked Joan.  
  
"I'm your older sister. Do you really want me to answer that?" Joan asked him.  
  
"Never mind," Luke said.   
  
"Well, this is my stop. Thanks for the movie and the slurpies guys. See you at school," Iris said, walking down the driveway to her house.   
  
"It's cool you two are finally getting along, yo," Adam told Joan.  
  
"Yeah. I guess she's not as bad as I thought. I'm just happy she forgave me. I was a real jerk to her," Joan said. Grace snickered.  
  
"That's an understatement," she said.   
  
"Thanks Grace, that's helping," Joan told her.  
  
"Hey, it's my job to be rude," Grace told her, throwing her empty cup in someones trash can.  
  
"Yeah, but it was true," Luke responded.   
  
"Sure, everyone's ganging up on Joan," Joan said as they passed a familiar street singer, singing 'One of Us' very off key.   
  
"Oh God, it's him again," Grace said.  
  
"Hey, I'll catch up with you guys," Joan told them, stopping. The other three kept walking.  
  
"Yeah?" Joan asked God once they were gone.   
  
"Don't sound so angry Joan, I didn't tell you to stop."  
  
"I don't even know how to respond to that. So, what's my assignment now?" God adjusted His guitar.  
  
"Have fun," He told her.  
  
"The last time you told me to have fun I had to throw that awful party."  
  
"You don't have to throw a party this time Joan, just be a normal teenager and have fun," God told her.  
  
"I talk to God, I don't think normal is an option anymore," Joan remarked.   
  
"Joan. I just came to tell you I wont be coming around for awhile. So the assignment I have for you while I'm gone is to just have fun with your friends. And be nice to Iris," God said.  
  
"Do I have to do that last part?" Joan questioned.  
  
"Free will Joan. Now go catch up with your friends. They're waiting for you," God told her, going back to singing. Joan looked at him one last time before leaving to catch up with Adam, Grace and Luke.  
  
-End-  
  
Authors Notes: 17 is an odd chapter to end on. *shrugs* I was trying to get to 20 but half way through 17 I decided it needed to end. Hope you liked this story, and my next one will be up soon. 


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